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Fortinet FortiSandbox vs Microsoft Defender for Endpoint comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 1, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Categories and Ranking

Fortinet FortiSandbox
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
4th
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
38
Ranking in other categories
Threat Deception Platforms (7th)
Microsoft Defender for Endp...
Ranking in Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
2nd
Average Rating
8.2
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
192
Ranking in other categories
Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP) (1st), Anti-Malware Tools (1st), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) (3rd), Microsoft Security Suite (5th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of April 2025, in the Advanced Threat Protection (ATP) category, the mindshare of Fortinet FortiSandbox is 10.7%, up from 8.4% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is 9.1%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Advanced Threat Protection (ATP)
 

Featured Reviews

Kiarash Heydari - PeerSpot reviewer
Light and powerful solution design; useful to have
My impression is that the initial setup process is quite straightforward. If you know what you're using it for, the initial setup can be quite easy and the solution is not that hard to use. When it comes to the steps taken for the implementation, you would select the OS you're using and when the files are sent to the appliance you check, and in the appliance configuration, it must be like the visual governance environment. You must set up the OS you have so that appliance can scan or analyze your file. To maintain this solution, you must always have at least one all-around person tuning this solution.
AnuragSrivastava - PeerSpot reviewer
Provides detailed visibility into threats but the ability to add exceptions needs improvement
One major item for improvement is the ability to add exceptions. We can add some exceptions, but not at the level we need to. The second major area for improvement involves enhanced capabilities for different operating systems or platforms. That is, even though we have coverage for different operating systems or platforms such as Linux, we don't get all of the controls and enhanced capabilities that are available with Windows devices. Reporting could also be improved because, at present, we get limited results at times. For example, in an environment with more than 100,000 devices, you may just get 10,000 results when you run a report.

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

Pros

"The most valuable features of Fortinet FortiSandbox are customization, ICAP protocol, and integration with other vendors. Additionally, the security work very well."
"It is an easily scalable solution."
"Performance is a valuable feature."
"The main benefit of Fortinet FortiSandbox is that it allows organizations to detect and prevent unknown threats from entering an infrastructure."
"The real-time analysis capability of FortiSandbox is beneficial for email analysis."
"The solution extracts an attached file before reaching the user and notifies the user if there's something malicious in the attachment received along with an email."
"Fortinet FortiSandbox's most valuable feature is the security it provides against threats, such as ransomware. Additionally, it integrates well with APIs."
"One of the valuable features is its ability to detect new threats."
"It's very easy to scale because it comes built-in with Windows 10, and you just need to enable it. This can be done on scale using group policies or through Endpoint Manager on cloud or Intune."
"Its simplicity is the most valuable. It also has very good integration. We like it."
"The patch management is very easy, as it can be done automatically or added to a schedule."
"The most valuable features are that it's easy to use and the updates are very simple."
"The virus scanning capability is excellent, and it feeds all the logs into the Microsoft 365 Defender portal, making them easy to search for."
"There are a couple of features, such as isolating the devices or connecting the device and connecting live response."
"The fact that it's from Microsoft, you don't have many false positives, unlike products from other vendors might have."
"Microsoft's technical support is fantastic."
 

Cons

"Most people are confused about how to use the right integration of the right Fortinet product."
"Fortinet FortiSandbox can improve by decreasing the time of analysis response. Other solutions have a better response time, such as WildFire."
"Fortinet FortiSandbox should improve its performance and security accuracy to keep competitive with other solutions, such as IBM."
"Sometimes, there are issues upgrading the version of the firewall or the SD-LAN box. After we upgrade to the latest version of the software, we still have the same box. I think it's the same for every vendor."
"If updated, Fortinet FortiSandbox could cover other risks."
"In future releases, I would like to see more automation capabilities."
"For additional features, maybe a form of execution pain files in a non-virtual environment because it has threats that identify when it is being run in a virtual machine."
"It would be better if it had support for Mac and Linux."
"Defender for Endpoint is complex, and the documentation is detailed. At the same time, it's hard to navigate sometimes. You have to go through tons of documentation to find what you want."
"The solution could improve by providing more integration."
"The initial setup can be a bit complex."
"We would like to see more tools for managing on-premises security... Sometimes, we have the tools, like Defender, to manage security in the cloud, but because we are so focused on the cloud, we forget the fact that we need to be sure about the security of the on-premises environment, specifically Active Directory."
"There could be an increase in security for the solution."
"I personally haven't experienced any pain points, but some of my coworkers feel that it isn't secure enough."
"This solution needs to move beyond relying on virus definitions alone and protect the system using behavioral analysis of the processes that are running."
"The solution could use improvement on the interface."
 

Pricing and Cost Advice

"There are additional costs, which isn't included in the licensing fee."
"Altogether, it is about €10,000 for the Sandbox and Email Gateway."
"We are on an annual license to use the solution. We have an additional feature that is integrated with S5, which is working well."
"There is a license to use this solution."
"The price is competitive."
"Fortinet is more reasonable than Palo Alto."
"FortiSandbox is a subscription that can be purchased from Fortinet directly. Only using FortiSandbox as features purchased as a subscription in the cloud."
"The solution is affordable."
"Because Microsoft Defender comes as an add-on, it can be a bit expensive if you're trying to buying it separately. Another option is to upgrade, but the enterprise licenses for Microsoft can also be quite a bit pricey. Overall, the cost of Microsoft Defender compared to that of other endpoint detection solutions is slightly higher."
"As we operate in the educational sector, we are eligible for an educational discount."
"We went for Microsoft Defender once we were informed that it would be part of our Office 365 package. So, we combined the licensing for the OS with Office 365. Yeah. We thought it was a good bargain."
"I do not have to purchase antivirus solutions anymore because Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is integrated into Windows and comes free."
"I recently switched from education to private business, and all I can say is that private business licensing from Microsoft is not cheap until you hit certain quantities or scale. That does not mean that it is not comparable to other industries. It is similar pricing, but it is still crazy to me how much you pay for a client. I feel it is high, but it is in line with other vendors."
"Microsoft Defender ATP is expensive."
"Pricing can always be lower."
"Its price is fair. It has approximately the same price as the other products such as Kaspersky. It is much cheaper than Malwarebytes."
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
Government
12%
Computer Software Company
12%
Financial Services Firm
10%
Manufacturing Company
7%
Educational Organization
27%
Computer Software Company
11%
Government
7%
Financial Services Firm
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Fortinet FortiSandbox?
The real-time analysis capability of FortiSandbox is beneficial for email analysis.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Fortinet FortiSandbox?
I think it's affordable. For the six to seven months of usage, the cost has been reasonable.
What needs improvement with Fortinet FortiSandbox?
We sometimes face a delay in email scanning due to not having multiple virtual machines. Improvements could be made in dynamic scanning, scanning all email components such as URLs and attachments, ...
How is Cortex XDR compared with Microsoft Defender?
Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security solution. The tool reduces the attack surface, applies behavioral-based endpoint protection and response, and includes risk-ba...
Which offers better endpoint security - Symantec or Microsoft Defender?
We use Symantec because we do not use MS Enterprise products, but in my opinion, Microsoft Defender is a superior solution. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint is a cloud-delivered endpoint security s...
How does Microsoft Defender for Endpoint compare with Crowdstrike Falcon?
The CrowdStrike solution delivers a lot of information about incidents. It has a very light sensor that will never push your machine hardware to "test", you don't have the usual "scan now" feature ...
 

Also Known As

FortiSandbox
Microsoft Defender ATP, Microsoft Defender Advanced Threat Protection, MS Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender Antivirus
 

Interactive Demo

Demo not available
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

Lush, Barnabas Health, Options, Riverside Healthcare, Hillsbourough County Schools, Columbia Public Schools, Schiller AG
Petrofrac, Metro CSG, Christus Health
Find out what your peers are saying about Fortinet FortiSandbox vs. Microsoft Defender for Endpoint and other solutions. Updated: March 2025.
846,617 professionals have used our research since 2012.